Matcha Baked Cheesecake

Matcha Baked Cheesecake

I am a cheesecake lover and thanks to my trip to Uji, I became also a matcha lover. So this recipe reminds me a little of Japan. Cheesecake as always been my favourite dessert ever since I tasted the White Chocolate Baked Cheesecake at Gail’s Bakery. It is super easy to make, you just need to mix the ingredients and bake it. However, it can be tricky as well. I remember the first cheesecake I baked didn’t turn out as beautiful as in the recipe book. The top of the cake was full of cracks and the surface was uneven. Now, my baking skills are getting better, if I may say so myself 🙂

The matcha green tea powder gives the smooth and creamy cheesecake a Japanese flavour.

Ingredients

10 digestive biscuits

50g of unsalted, melted butter

400g of cream cheese

120 g of caster sugar

2 large eggs

50 g of plain flour

½ lemon

100 ml of single cream

Matcha powder

Preparation

Pre-heat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Crush the biscuits either in a plastic bag and crush them using a rolling pin or food processor. Put the crushed biscuits into a bowl, add the melted butter and mix well.

Put a baking sheet inside the greased tin then spread the crumbled biscuits. Make sure the crumbs are spread evenly and compressed into the base of the tin.

For the filling, put the cream cheese, egg and single cream in a mixing bowl. Beat with an electric whisk (or manual) to soften the cheese. Add the remaining filling ingredients (except for the matcha) and mix well.

Prepare 4 bowls and put different amount of matcha powder in 3 of the bowls. Mix the matcha with a little bit of water. Then pour the same quantity of the filling into each the bowls. You will get a varying shade of green.

Pour and scrape the filling without matcha into the tin and spread evenly. Then carefully pour in the centre of the tin, the remaining filings (from the lightest to the deepest colour). Place the tin in the oven and bake or 40 minutes. Turn off the oven and leave the cheesecake to rest for 10 minutes with the oven door a little ajar.

Leave to cool, then cover with clingfilm and chill for 4 to 6 hours or overnight if possible. After chilling the cheesecake, run a knife around the edge of the container to loosen the cheesecake.

When ready to eat, set the cheesecake on a serving plate and sprinkle with extra matcha powder.